Rotary clothes line cover

ABSTRACT

According to the present invention, there is provided a cover ( 11 ) for an outdoor clothes airer ( 10 ) having at least three radially-extending arms ( 2 ) supporting an array of clothes lines ( 7 ), the cover comprising a sheet ( 3 ) of waterproof material which is resistant to ultra-violet rays and dimensioned to extend radially beyond the ends of said radial arms above the clothes lines, arranged to drain outwards, and provided with a central supporting means ( 16 ) and a peripheral tensioning means ( 5 ) such as a drawstring or plurality thereof for securing the sheet to the airer and a circumferential skirt ( 6 ) of an air permeable netting material finished with a weighted hem ( 9 ). Access to the laundry contained within the invention is easily achieved by lifting a side or sides of the circumferential skirt and laying it or them on top of the cover sheet, after which the laundry may be laced within the skirt of removed therefrom and the skirt may be let down again.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a §371 filing of PCT application PCT/GB2007/001826filed on May 15, 2007, which claims priority from British applicationGB0609633.3 filed on May 16, 2006. The disclosures of these applicationsare included by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the invention

This invention relates to a cover to keep washing dry which is suitablefor all existing rotary clothes line airers.

2. Description of Related Art

In searches it was found that there were many examples of prior art forthe current application, which arises from the need to protect washedclothes from wetting by further rainfall while drying on an outdoorline. In addition, laundry hung outside to dry is subject to degradationas a result of accumulated dirt on the line and by soiling due to birds,which also is obviated by the provision of a cover. Despite the problemsof outdoor drying it is generally felt that there is a superior qualityto laundry dried in open air. Due to restrictions on space for manyhouseholds, the rotary airer type of washing line is extremely popular,and lends itself well to the superimposition of a waterproof cover thatwill prevent ingress of falling water onto the clothes hung upon theairer. Many working housewives find that in the British climate theycannot predict whether the laundry put out in the morning will actuallydry by the evening, or will be wetter than before. Then they are forcedeither remove the washing while wet or leave it in place uncertainwhether the next day will be dry enough.

Clothing dried in direct sunlight is also subject to bleaching due tothe action of ultra violet rays, a problem that the present inventionseeks to ameliorate. The main alternative to drying laundry outdoors isto use a tumble drier or similar electrically heated device to dry thelaundry indoors. Apart from the drawbacks inherent in this method ofdrying laundry, ecological and economic factors now weigh against thismethod of drying, in that the cost of electricity is increasing quickly,and huge national economies could be achieved if this method werereplaced by the method using the current invention. The fossil fuelsspent in generation would be preserved and the pollution producedthereby would also be avoided.

The existing similar published Patent applications are frequentlylimited in scope, impractical, clumsy in use or expensive tomanufacture. The number of applicants who have been deterred frompursuing the idea due to prior art is extremely high, many applicationslapsing as soon as the searches are received. The majority ofapplications provide for a rigid structure to be mounted upon theexisting airer involving additional weight, expense and complexity. Theytend to entrain air within the canopy and skirt causing condensation andpoor drying ability, are often unstable even in moderate winds. Forthese reasons, many are likely to cause the central shaft of the rotaryairer to either deform or detach itself from its base. Without theability of the air to circulate, the clothes are unable to dry asquickly or as freshly as in free air. Furthermore the materials selectedare often designed to maximize the insulation of the laundry in order toincrease the rapidity of the drying process with the resultant problemthat the washing is as bleached by the effect of ultra violet light asit would be in the open air.

Many applications apply only to three-armed rotary airers, while othersapply only to four-armed rotary airers. Frequently the application willprovide for a structure to be superimposed onto the central shaft or thearms of the airer and of these inventions some apply to a convexstructure which drains to the peripheral edge or surface of theinvention while others apply to concave structures which drain to thecentre of the invention. In several cases the cover is arranged as aseries of panels to allow air to flow through, while others have ventsor large central apertures in conjunction with a separate hood or baffleto prevent rain falling on the laundry. Several different means ofattachment are featured, the majority of which depend on location of theradial arms within the corners of the cover, and external lateralsurfaces, sheets or skirts in a wide variety of forms are provided inthe majority of applications.

In the recently terminated application GB2369045 DAY there is presenteda centrally raised tent structure located at its centre on top of anadditional pole extension and at the extremities of the radial arms ofthe airer itself. As with the present application and sundry other filedPatent Applications the cover forms a convex upper surface. However, inthe current application, the cover is applied directly to theextremities of the radial arms and secured by means of a drawstring orstrings with or without the provision of elastic reinforcement, andfeatures a skirt with a weighted hem, whereas DAY provides for aperturesin the canopy to accommodate special end pieces for the arms of theairer amongst other distinguishing features.

GB2109678 FEILDEN provides for a concave cape with waterproof sidesattached at its corners in either square or triangular form but withoutthe provision of a drawstring means to allow for variations in size ofexisting airers, while GB2352168 COLLINS provides for a rigid structureto bear the weight of the cover, attached above the airer itself, beingsquare in plan and formed of heavyweight waterproof material andtethered to the ground. GB2369562 ROOKE also provides for a rigidstructure supervening above the existing airer frame. GB2061719 PENROSEprovides for a convex polygonal cover attached at the ends of the radialarms without provision for any lateral protection from the rain or meansfor drainage. In GB2336527 MARTIN there is provided a cover inducingnegative pressure to cause airflow through the laundry, but which isformed of an individually attached cover and impermeable side panels tocreate the “venturi effect.” This configuration is likely to suffer orfail in conditions of high wind due to the wind resistance inherent inits design. GB2376626 ROUSE provides for a circular transparent coverattached by pegs to the distal lines of the rotary airer whereas inpractice such a cover would require to be tensioned around the ends ofthe radial arms. These are a few more relevant applications of manydiscovered in the Prior Art. It is the aim of the present invention toprovide a solution to the problem that so many different configurationshave attempted to address, and that is simple both to manufacture and touse.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a cover for anoutdoor clothes airer having at least three radially-extending armssupporting an array of clothes lines, the cover comprising a sheet ofwaterproof material which is resistant to ultra-violet rays anddimensioned to extend radially beyond the ends of said radial arms abovethe clothes lines, arranged to drain outwards, and provided with acentral supporting means and a peripheral tensioning means such as adrawstring or plurality thereof for securing the sheet to the airer anda circumferential skirt of an air permeable netting material finishedwith a weighted hem. Access to the laundry contained within theinvention is easily achieved by lifting a side or sides of thecircumferential skirt and laying it or them on top of the cover sheet,after which the laundry may be placed within the skirt or removedtherefrom and the skirt may be let down again. The material forming thecentral portion of the invention may be of any material which provideswater resistance and which ideally is resistant to Ultra Violetradiation. However, in practice an impermeable polypropylene orpolyethylene weave, raffia material or nylon suitably treated willprovide the durability and lightness required for the purpose. Thecorner points of the cover sheet should be reinforced by second orfurther layers of material. The central portion of the material formingthe cover will also ideally be reinforced by second or further layers ofmaterial or of other material. The cover sheet of the invention is alsoprovided with a central supporting means comprising a length of rigidmaterial such as steel, UPVC (unplasticised polyvinyl chloride) or othersuitable plastic in order that the cover sheet may be so raised at itscentre and thus drain outwardly. This central support may additionallybe furnished with means of adjusting its vertical height to assist intensioning the cover sheet upon the airer and will usually be tubular orcylindrical in form.

Outdoor Airers normally feature a plastic cap at the upper end of thecentral post to prevent ingress of water. This may be removed toaccommodate the central support of the present invention. The centralsupport may be fashioned in a variety of ways, but the preferred formscomprise a tubular form that fits within the shaft of the airer at itsupper extremity either with or without a taper on its outer surface suchthat the outer diameter of the central support reduces towards its lowerend, thus enabling a tightly conforming fit with a wide variety of sizesof central shaft of the airer. An alternative arrangement is to providea stepped profile to the support at its lower end in place of the taper.The central support may equally be of a lesser or greater diameter thanthe central shaft of the airer throughout its length and furnished witha range of holes of the same diameter disposed diametrically oppositeeach other, lineally along said central support. In this case a peg isprovided to penetrate through both sides of the central shaft to locatethe central support and adjust its height relative to the central shaftof the airer. In this simple form without a tapered or stepped profile,it can be set to a variety of heights within the central shaft of theairer to support the cover sheet at the correct tension, whereas ineither tapered or stepped profile variations it will be necessary eitherto provide a support of a fixed length or to provide a similar range ofholes to raise or lower a second central support member that fits withinthe tapered or stepped shaft which is similarly equipped with holes andis then pegged at the appropriate height. Known alternatives to the‘hole and peg’ method of adjustment may be utilised, which include areleasable collar that adjusts the height of the central support inorder to tension the cover appropriately.

By providing a peripheral channel in the material at or near its outeredge, within which is positioned a cord with two loose ends revealed tothe exterior of the channel to form a drawstring, differences indiameter and form can be accommodated to make the invention applicableto a wide range of existing airers. A further improvement is to providea plurality of drawstrings to facilitate the tensioning process of thecover sheet. It has been found that the radial arms of existing airersrange from 900 to 1600 millimeters radius, with the majority falling inthe region of 1300 to 1400 millimeters. Larger and smaller spans may beaccommodated within the scope of the invention by increasing ordecreasing the size of the cover sheet. The present invention may beproduced in a variety of shapes and sizes to cover the range of airersexistent at any time now or in the future. Said airers are usually ratedin terms of their linear capacity, a triple armed version being at thelower end of the scale at 38 meters (903 mm radius) while four armedversions range from 40 to 60 meters (1250 mm to 1585 mm).

In place upon the rotary airer, dependent from the external edge of thecover below said drawstring is a skirt made of a netting or mesh. Thepurpose of said skirt is to prevent rain falling at an angle onto theouter garments on the airer. Experiments have proved that a loose weavematerial as now described will deflect all but the most fiercely drivenrain. Said skirt may be of any depth but will usually be within therange of 700 to 1000 millimeters deep, this depth having been found tobe the optimum practical balance between protection and ease of use.Said netting should ideally be lightweight and both water andultra-violet resistant, of a loose weave with a mesh size of between 1millimeter and 5 millimeters, although any practicable fabric may beutilised within the scope of the invention. In order to preventexcessive movement of such a light fabric in the wind the netting skirtwill require to be weighted. A weighted circumferential hem may beprovided to give solidity to the skirt and to prevent the wind fromblowing the loose fabric against the drying laundry contained within, orotherwise weights may be provided to attach to the skirt as required.Said skirt may equally be fashioned in segments and may be weighted byother means, e.g. by self-adhesive, pocketed or hooked weights. Ifdesired it may be tethered by means of guy ropes extending from thedistal ends of the radial arms within said skirt, or from attachments atthe lower edge of said skirt to ground spikes or pegs in the manner of atent for added security in bad weather. In certain cases it may bedesirable to replace or supplement the drawstring or drawstringshereinbefore mentioned with one or more lengths of elastic similarlyarranged to facilitate attachment of the cover to the rotary airer.

In order to prevent the risk of wind tearing the cover from the airer,vents may be provided in or upon the cover sheet to permit the reductionof pressure thus relieving any upward forces on the cover sheet. Thesemay be provided in any form, being in the simplest form a slit orplurality of slits in the cover sheet. A preferred option is to form anaperture or apertures horizontally in the cover sheet, over which apatch of material is sewn or welded on the upper and side edges, withthe lower side left open to permit ventilation of the interior space ofthe cover sheet. Preferably pleated gussets may be provided at bothsides to vary the aperture for ventilation as required in response tothe prevailing wind. As a further precaution, securing means may beapplied to the cover sheet to prevent it flying away or being lost iftorn from the airer by a sudden gust of strong wind. Ideally said meanswill be in the form of a tie or ties connecting the cover sheet by knotsor hooks to the arms or central pole of the airer, and will allow thecover to become detached from the airer without damage while retainingthe cover attached in at least one place to the airer. However, in viewof the force that severe wind can place on the airer and its cover, itis advisable to remove the invention from the airer for storage duringstormy weather.

It may be found practical to extend the material of the cover sheetvertically below the drawstring means. It may also be found desirable toincorporate vertical strips of heavier material into the skirt, eitherto provide increased stability of the skirt in high wind or in the formof a plurality of vertical flaps forming Vee-shaped strips as viewedfrom above, all attached in identical orientation around the skirt witheither right or left hand edges open in order to catch the wind anddrive the rotary airer round in either a clockwise or anti-clockwisedirection respectively.

A reinforcing strip or patches of fabric may be attached within thecover sheet to strengthen the cover sheet where it is in contact withthe airer. If desired, protective items (hereinafter referred to asprotectors) may be separately or integrally furnished to overlay theends of the radial arms thus reducing any wear to the cover where itrests on said ends. The protectors may be of any form or known meanssuch that the point load upon the material is diminished, e.g. sheets ofdurable plastic which deform to accommodate the ends of the radial arms,balls of sponge-like plastic, rigid hemispheres equipped with a centralrecess to attach over the ends of the arms, patches of reinforcingmaterial etcetera. In tropical countries it is sometimes prudent toprevent access of insects to the laundry, such as the Putsi fly inZimbabwe and other parts of Africa. This particular insect lays its eggsin moist sand, earth or laundry; the eggs later hatching into maggotswhich burrow under the skin of a warm blooded host such as a humanbeing. These later hatch and emerge from the skin, by which time seriousinfection has set in. As a result it is the custom to have all laundryironed to prevent or limit the possibility of the eggs hatching from thelaundry when an article of clothing is worn. This uses energy in awasteful manner, as referred to above, and an embodiment of the presentinvention therefore includes the provision of a skirt that reaches theground, and guy ropes 20 and pegs 21 together with a zipped or otherwiseinsect-proof opening 22 for access to the interior.

In the following drawings it is not intended to exclude features fromanother Figure from each specific embodiment but rather to provide abasis for their combination in specific applications. While theinvention has been disclosed in its preferred form, it is to beunderstood that the specific embodiments thereof, as described andillustrated herein, are not to be considered in a limited sense, asthere may be other forms or modifications of the invention which shouldalso be construed to come within the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a section along the diagonal centreline of the rotary airerdemonstrating the essential features of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows an aerial view of the invention in place upon a typicalfour-Armed airer, distorted in order to show details of the skirt.

FIG. 3 shows a frontal view demonstrating the arrangement of a secureand insect proof airer and cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows the cover 11 in place upon atypical four-armed rotary airer 10. The arrangement upon a triangularrotary airer is identical but for the fact that the cover sheet 3 isshaped as a triangle. The drawstring means 5 will draw the outer edge ofthe cover sheet 3 inward in the same way. At the present date there areno airers made with more than four arms, but five- or six armed airersare possible, and the invention could equally conform to suchalternative configurations. The rotary airer 10 has the main features ofcentral shaft 1, radial arms 2 and lines 7, over which is draped thecover 11 composed of cover sheet 3, drawstring 5, mesh or netting skirt6, protectors 8 and weighted hem 9. The central supporting means 16attaches to top of the central shaft 1 in order to raise the cover sheet3 enabling said cover sheet 3 to drain outwards. The invention is shownin the raised position, but if it is desired to fold the airer when notin use by lowering the collar 13 bearing the radial arms 2 downwards onthe central shaft 1, the cover 11 may be left in place to keep the lines7 clean, or removed in clement weather if so desired. For the sake ofclarity, washing lines 7 are only partially indicated. It may also bedesirable in certain cases to replace or supplement said drawstring ordrawstrings 5 with one or more lengths of elastic similarly displayed tofacilitate attachment of the cover 11 to the rotary airer 10. The coversheet 3 is ideally fashioned of waterproof material resistant toultra-violet radiation and is held in place by a peripheral drawstringor drawstrings 5 that is slidably located within a peripheral track orchannel defined by a seam or plurality of seams in the material of thecover 11 which may be tensioned to suit the individual rotary airer 10.Said drawstring or drawstrings 5 may be supplemented or replaced by oneor more elastic strips similarly arranged. The central portion 14 of thecover sheet 3 should ideally be reinforced as hereinbefore described.The cover sheet 11 is supported by a central support 16 as hereinbeforementioned, arranged to fit co-operatively with the central shaft 10 ofthe airer 1, and adjusted to the correct height in this case by means ofa peg 18 and a range of holes 19, although other known means such as areleasable collar or a support of a fixed length may be utilised.

Dependent from the distal extremity of the cover sheet 3 is a mesh ornetting skirt 6 as hereinbefore described which is ideally preventedfrom flapping in the wind by a weighted hem 9. Protectors 8 aspreviously described may be provided to prevent wear on the material ofthe cover sheet 3 where it is in contact with the outer ends of theradial arms 2. Reinforcement 15 is provided in the form of second orfurther layers of material at the corners of the cover sheet 3.

FIG. 2 shows the invention as seen from above, showing the central shaft1 of the airer 10 surmounted by the central support 16 supporting thecover 11 in use. The cover sheet 3 is held in place upon the airer 10 bya drawstring or drawstrings 5 held in tension by known means. Dependentfrom the extremity of said cover sheet 3 is the mesh or netting skirt 6finished in this case with a weighted hem 9. Said skirt 6 may equally befashioned in segments and may be weighted by other means, e.g. byself-adhesive, pocketed or hooked weights. In certain cases it may bedesirable to replace or supplement said drawstring or drawstrings 5 withone or more lengths of elastic 17 similarly displayed to facilitateattachment of the cover 11 to the rotary airer 10. Likewise, secondarysecuring means such as strings or lengths of material may be attached tothe underside of the cover 11 at the corners, centrally or otherwisedisposed upon said cover sheet 3 to attach the cover 11 securely to theairer. The skirt 6 may additionally be provided with vertical strips ofmaterial 12 to increase its rigidity, and said vertical strips 12 may beperpendicularly folded and formed in the shape of a Vee, thus permittingwind trapped thereby to exert a rotational force upon said rotary airer10.

FIG. 3 shows a variation for use in tropical countries where it isdesirable to exclude insects. This example shows the cover as describedabove, mounted upon a purpose built airer additionally equipped with anintegral central shaft 1 extended to form the central supporting means16 of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is further distinguished from the previousexamples by the provision of guy ropes 20 and pegs 21 and a fine meshskirt 6 extended to ground level and secured there by known meanswhatsoever. To permit access, a secure fastening such as a zip 22 isprovided that will exclude insects when fastened. Said skirt may befashioned to extend outwards at its base if desired to form a largersecure area which could even provide secure portable shelter againstinsects. This extension is shown as a fine mesh skirt 6(2) and held inplace by pegs 21 or other known means with or without guy ropes 20.

1. An outdoor clothes airer cover for an outdoor clothes airer having atleast three radially-upwardly-extending arms between which extend anarray of clothes lines, the outdoor clothes airer cover comprising: asuitably shaped sheet of waterproof material dimensioned to extendradially above said clothes lines and beyond an end of each of saidradially-upwardly-extending arms, the sheet having a reinforced centralportion adapted to be supported centrally above the clothes airer; aplurality of reinforcing layers adapted to reinforce the sheet where thesheet contacts each end of the radial arms; a vent in the sheet forventing air from beneath the sheet; a central support adapted to attachto a central shaft of the rotary airer and to raise the sheet above theend of each of said radially-upwardly-extending arms; one or more cordsproviding peripheral drawstring for securing the sheet below the end ofeach of said radially-upwardly-extending arms of the airer; and asubstantially vertically-oriented circumferential skirt of an airpermeable netting material, the circumferential skirt integrally mountedto the sheet and the skirt having a hem weighted throughout its length.2. An outdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidwaterproof material is resistant to Ultra Violet radiation.
 3. Anoutdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedrawstring comprises an elastic material.
 4. An outdoor clothes airercover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said skirt comprises verticalstrips of a heavier material to provide increased rigidity, and whereinthe vertical strips comprise Vee-shaped flaps oriented to promoterotation of the cover and the rotary airer when impacted by wind.
 5. Anoutdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidsubstantially vertically-oriented circumferential skirt is adapted to besecured to ground by guy ropes.
 6. An outdoor clothes airer cover for asclaimed in claim 5, wherein the skirt comprises an insect-proof entry.7. An outdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim 1 wherein thecentral support comprises a lower extremity equipped with a variableexternal diameter.
 8. An outdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim1 wherein the central support further comprises a height adjustment. 9.An outdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said skirtcomprises strips of a heavier material to provide increased rigidity.10. An outdoor clothes airer cover as claimed in claim 9, wherein thestrips are vertical and adapted to exert a rotational force upon therotary airer when impacted by wind.
 11. An outdoor clothes airer coveras recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of guy ropes, eachof the plurality of guy ropes attached to the end of one of saidradially-upwardly-extending arms and secured to ground by one of spikesand pegs.
 12. An outdoor rotary washing line airer having multiplesplayed arms disposed equi-angularly about and supported centrally froma common central vertical post, and an outdoor clothes airer coveraccording to claim 1, the central post adapted to provide centralsupport for the cover, and the cover engaging an extremity of each thearms and retained on the arms by the one or more cords.
 13. A method ofdrying laundry comprising a step of mounting a damp laundry on theoutdoor rotary washing line airer claimed in claim
 12. 14. A method asrecited in claim 13, wherein the washing line airer is adapted to rotatewhen impacted by wind, wherein the method further comprises allowingwind to rotate the airer to enhance drying of the clothes.